End of All Things
by severedstringss
Summary: Takes place in 4x16. Daisy explains the framework to Ward and what he did in the real world. Grant apologizes for what he did to Daisy and comforts her. Jemma, of course, walks in at the worst time. Please review!


**End of All Things**

Takes place in 4x16 Agents of SHIELD

Rated: k+ to T

Ward apologizes to Skye/Daisy for whatever he did in the real world.

Angst, forgiveness

Title from a Panic! at the Disco song

First fanfic! Please review :)

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing (obviously) because if I did, SkyeWard would have been cannon from season 1 and we wouldn't need all this framework AU sh*t to fix it. But here we are...

 _How are we going to get out of there?_ After the backdoor failed, Jemma left to take a quick nap in Ward's bed. No, not _Ward's_ bed, _their_ bed. She shivered at the thought of it. How could this be her life: living with Ward and working for Hydra. And, from what she saw at the Triskelion, she was a violent person, _someone who hurt inhumans!_ No, this world wasn't paradise, it was hell.

Daisy thought back to what Radcliffe had said. In justifying this twisted mess, he said he was trying to fix everyone's deepest regret. If that was what he and AIDA did, why was Ward here. She had so many other regrets from her long life of pain: not having parents growing up, Trip's death, Bobbi and Hunter leaving, Lincoln's death… _Lincoln!_ How could he not be her biggest regret? His death shattered her. But then again… so did Ward's betrayal. But she hated him. He betrayed everyone, he tried to kill her friends, he murdered countless others. And through all that, he claimed still cared about her. She had spent too long trying to unravel his lies.

Daisy didn't realize she was so lost in thoughts that she hadn't noticed Grant Ward was standing in the doorway watching her. She didn't know how long he had been standing there.

"What is wrong with you Skye? What is going on? You woke up like you were a completely different person." He looked so confused she almost felt bad for him. Almost. Could she tell him the truth? He might turn on her when he finds out.

"Well," she started, not sure where to begin. "This isn't the real world. This is called the Framework. It's like a simulation. Jemma and I went in to wake up our friends. They are trapped here and think that this is their world. They don't remember the real world. There's this insane doctor who tried to build 'a paradise.' When we tried to stop him, he trapped my friends in this... place." Coming out of her mouth, it sounded even more crazy than she thought. Daisy tried to read Ward's expression; did he believe her?

"So, in 'the real world' am I real?" He asked trying to get a grip on what she was saying.

"Yeah," she sighed. "You were real." If she told Grant what he did in the real world, would he do? It's not like she could tell him 'you were my SO and I had a crush on you. When we finally got together, you betrayed me and our entire team, dropped my two best friends in the ocean, and revealed that you were really a lying Nazi sociopath. After that, you kidnapped me (twice) and brought me to my insane father in an alien city where I got earthquake powers. Next, you kidnapped and tortured my friend. Later, you murdered my boss's girlfriend. Oh and here's where it gets interesting! You had your chest caved in and were left for dead on an alien planet. Your dead body was possessed by an evil parasite and you came back to Earth. The evil parasite, Hive, infected her and had her hurt everyone she cared about. Hive's plans to infect the world were eventually stopped and he was blown up in a spaceship along with the man she loved.' And yet here he was standing in front of her, not three feet away.

"Skye? What do you mean I was real?" His voice called her back to reality.

"It's Daisy," she corrected him automatically. "And… you're dead in the real world. It's a long story," she said with a sigh.

"Oh," he said, not knowing how to respond. "So… in your world what did I do?" After he saw her puzzled look he continued. "Since you woke up this morning, you've barely looked me in the eye. And, when you have, you look at me like I killed someone... What did I do to you?"

Daisy took a deep breath. "A lot. And yeah you did kill someone. Lots of people, actually. You and I were together until I found out you were an evil Hydra son of a..." She was trying not to sound bitter. It wasn't working. She managed to stop herself before she started ranting. "The Framework was supposed to fix one regret. And when I woke up, you were here so I guess…"

"I was your regret," he finished. He walked over to her, closing the distance between them until they were less than a foot away. "Look, I don't know what I did in your world. But, I'm sorry. I am so sorry for whatever he- I did to you." He touched her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "The person I am here… I would never hurt you. Ever."

Daisy wanted to leave before she did something stupid. She hated him, didn't she? That stupid voice in the back of her head whispered, _If you hate him, why is here?_ Her eyes were starting to burn with tears. Memories began to flash. Love. Hurt. Betrayal. Want. Need.

This Ward was the same one who promised never to lie to her, not the one who shoved FitzSimmons out of a plane. The same one who trained her to be a SHIELD agent, not the same one who murdered Koenig, Roslin, and so many others.

No! This isn't real. Even if she could forgive him, he isn't real. This whole world was a dream, or rather a nightmare. Ugh, she was so confused. A hot tear trickled out and before she could walk away, Grant pulled her into a hug. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head before resting his chin there. Despite all her efforts to stop them, tears began to pour out. She didn't care that this was all a dream. Daisy pulled him in as close as she could, closing all the gaps between them. It felt unbelievably good to forget all her problems, to be in his arms again. Tears still streaming down her face, she looked up at him and leaned in to kiss him. For Grant, the two of them kissing was probably the most natural thing. Not for Daisy, however. In that one kiss she felt everything: how much she had loved him, how broken she had been when he betrayed her.

Daisy kissed him harder, more desperately. Her hands reached up into his hair while Grant wrapped his arms around her waist.

Just then, Jemma walked in. Of course. Jemma always had the worst timing (like with Lincoln). Daisy awkwardly pulled her mouth away, still pressed against Grant. Jemma gave her an 'I'm gonna kill you' look. Even if Daisy could forgive Ward, there was no way in hell Jemma would.

"Daisy, we need to discuss our plan to find our friends and get out, if your done sucking face with that murderer," Jemma said, still glaring at Daisy. Jemma turned to walk out of the kitchen into the office. Daisy and Ward followed her, linking their hands together. Without turning around, Jemma called out, "Leave the psychopath."

Daisy gave Grant a reassuring squeeze of his hand and a small smile. She followed Jemma into the office, already missing her little break from reality.


End file.
